A smile is such a simple yet effective gesture to convey one’s feelings. We can smile to greet, thank, show love, sympathy, and even affection. When we smile, we are inviting others to smile as well and pass this positive gesture on to others, which in return leads to a lot of positivity. After all, there’s a saying that goes along the lines of “Smiling is more contagious than the flu!”
Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Weinstein, who is an Australian-born photographer and traveler. Back in 2013, he began traveling full-time to see the world and its people. Over the course of his adventures, he witnessed a man transform right in front of his eyes as he said a simple word—“Smile!” just before taking a photograph, and it marked the beginning of his project, “so I asked them to smile.”
#1
"She was walking around the massive Brahma Sarovar Lake with a friend, the perfect end to a hot summer's day in Kurukshetra, Haryana, India...so I asked her to smile."
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64points
Right now Jay travels around the world and takes pictures of strangers asking them to smile, also including a little back story to his pictures too. Of course, this isn't the first time we've featured Weinstein’s work here on Bored Panda, and if you’d like to see more, then go ahead and click here, here, and here.
#2
"She was walking with friends, one overcast afternoon, exploring the streets of Fort Kochi, Kerala, India...so I asked her to smile."
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64points
#3
"He was playing with his family one morning, as the warm sun rose in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India...so I asked him to smile."
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59points
#4
"He was at the little roadside shop with school friends one afternoon, as I photographed people through the clouds of dust and heavy winds in the crossroad market of Kiritiri, Eastern Province, Kenya...so I asked him to smile."
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59points
#5
"He was sitting outside his small shop one afternoon, as I explored the historic streets of Karaikudi, in Tamil Nadu, India...so I asked him to smile."
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58points
#6
"He was walking toward me one evening, as I explored the outer edge of Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India...so I asked him to smile."
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50points
#7
"She was walking down a busy street as evening arrived in Fitzroy, a colorful suburb of Melbourne, Australia...so I asked her to smile."
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45points
#8
"He was offering his respects with hundreds of other locals, as the vibrant Jagannath Ratha Yatra procession passed by on the humid streets of Mayapur, West Bengal, India...so I asked him to smile."
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42points
#9
"He was walking with friends, as I photographed the residential streets of Port Melbourne one afternoon in Melbourne, Australia...so I asked him to smile."
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42points
#10
"He was walking through Uhuru Park one afternoon, as workers on their lunch break hustled past others sat on the sturdy green grass lawns surrounding the small boating lake in Nairobi, Kenya...so i asked him to smile."
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40points